Taylor Guitars 510-AB 25th Anniversary Model

Made in 1999 in USA. 14 frets to the body. Solid engelmann spruce top. No electronics in original condition. (I installed K&K Pure Western.) Mahogany back, sides, and neck. Clear-finish dreadnought body with satin-finish neck. The body is thinner than my friend's Collings D-2H. Tusq nut and saddle. Ebony bridge pins. Grover silver tuners. (I replaced them with Gotoh SGZ510X. The result is far less need to touch the tuner buttons.) Thin, moderately wide neck is easy to play. I have been using this guitar for three years and nine months. The frets of this guitar have been worn out quickly. Frets under B and high E now show signs of wear from the first to twelve frets. I see slight wear even under other strings. Came with a sturdy case and humidifier. The case is dark brown.

I use medium-light gauge strings (12-52 or 54). The sound of this guitar is bright. The higher three strings, when picked softly, produce a sweet tone at around 12 frets, when picked hard, a harsh, thin-sounding tone. Lows are articulate, not muddy, but not so deep. The tone may change if I use medium gauge strings.

The edge of the side finish has developed a peel at the neck-body joint. Cracks have been generated between the tortoise shell binding and back at the shoulders and waist. This might have been caused by my poor humidity control. But I am not sure. The action was good.

I have used this guitar on about 20 gigs without a backup and had no problem except that it went out of tune quite often before I replaced the tuners.

This guitar had a six-month warranty, which was very short. The repair of the cracks at the shoulders was covered by the warranty. But cracks developed again.

I have been playing 35 years on and off. I had a Takamine and a Tama. If Taylor 510-AB were stolen or lost, I would get something else. Probably, Collings D-2H or Mcalister. I am also interested in Fylde Falstaff. I like the looks of this guitar; abalone rosette & top trim, 25th anniversary logo, and the pickguard shape. I don't like the UV-cured polyurethane finish. When I bought this guitar, I compared it with a Martin D-28. The two guitars were similar to me soundwise. I liked the looks of this guitar. I wish it had hard and smooth frets.

1999 Taylor 510-AB made in EL Cajon, CA, solid englemann spruce top, no electronics. Gloss finish. Comes with beautiful Taylor red plush lined luggage case.

This guitar suits my style perfectly, that is acoustic rock and solo acoustic stuff, has plenty of bass, but not too much, and the trebel rings out clearly. Each note can be heard clearly while fingerpicking, and chords sound great even when hard strumming is ensued.

Taylors are known for their low action, and it is perfect. intonation is perfect all the way up the neck. there is absolutely nothing wrong with this guitar.

I'd definately gig with this without a backup. sealed gold grover tuners are very solid and reliable. the finish is very durable, although it is not too think to make the guitar look silly.

The only dealings i've had with them is an email to which I received a quick response, so I assume they will be as helpful in the future.

If it were lost or stolen, I'd search the globe for another one!!!!!

This is a 1999 25th aniversary commemorative model 510-AB. It came with hardshell luggage case. It has the same features as the 1999 510 (all solid woods, englemann spruce top, mahogany back and sides, gloss finish, mahogany neck, ebony fretboard and bridge, chrome plated grover tuners) with the added feature of abalone inlay around the edge of the top. This guitar is a pleasure to play and a pleasure to behold. It has no electronics in it and I am going to have something installed. I play professionally and am currently making due with a Lawrence soundhole type pickup. I am considering getting the new L.R.Baggs iBeam, which is being said to give a true reproduction of the acoustic sound of an instrument. (My friend is getting one put into a Santa Cruz so I will get to preview it that way. I previously owned a 1998 Taylor 510-CE that had the Fishman onboard blender system, and I did get a decent sound with it but am just not too keen on cutting a hole in the side of a guitar like this one! Call me a purist, I guess... )

I play folk, rock and roll, pop, oldies, some country- classically trained and I do about as much intricate finger picking as I do hard strumming. Even though Taylor claims their smaller bodied models are better suited to fingerstyle, this big guitar really shines as a fingerstyle guitar! wow! I have played the grand concert and grand auditorium model mahogany Taylors but don't like them nearly as well as the dreadnought. To me, they just don't sound as good when you strum them hard. I have got to have the volume and the bass response of the dread. But for fingerstyle, this 510 is just incredible. How much more balanced can an instrument be than this? Just so balanced and responsive, it is really hard to put down. And when I do strum that big fat open E chord, I can feel the whole thing vibrating all the way up the neck under my fretting hand, and it excites me to think that it is opening up in tone with every chord. I can't wait until I have played it for a few years. Actually, If I had to gripe about something, I wish it had more bass than it does. But I know it will happen. My previous Taylor opened up considerably in 3 years. I tend to not like a real bright treble sound, but the beautiful balance in the mahogany bodied guitar makes up for any lack of bass. I hate to even say "lack of bass", because there really is a full sound in the bottom end.... I don't know what I expect...perfection? Anyway, I guess that is why I don't like the smaller bodied Taylors, too much highs and mids, too much zing and I just don't personally prefer it. I just have to have that bass. I might get more bass response from a rosewood guitar, but I don't like the boominess or the feedback problems either. There is no perfect guitar, but Taylors come close. I have played a lot of guitars in stores but no other brand has charmed me like Taylor. They seem to be very consistent, I have played Martins that are absolutely gorgeous in tone and others that just seem to lack any character at all. Of course, Martin makes some pretty low end models, laminates, etc... and all Taylors are solids...still, I've never played a Taylor that didn't have something special about it. (Although I have never even picked up a 600 series (maple) Taylor, obviously I wouldn't like the sound of a maple guitar at all- too bright for me!) I have been playing for 24 years. I am NOT a guitar collector. Even though I began making my living as a full time musician 12 years ago, I still had the crummy laminate Epiphone I got from my father at age 13. Played that guitar and ONLY that guitar for 21 years. (Who ever heard of that?) 3 years ago I bought a Taylor 510-CE and thought I had died and gone to heaven! I loved it! I thought I would NEVER part with it, last week I saw this 510 AB and I just knew I had to have it. Amazingly- I have parted with the 510-CE in order to have this stunning instrument- I confess I wanted it not only for the Taylor sound and playability but also for ascetic reasons, (I love the abalone and the non-cutaway, I never used the cutaway and I just like the look of the full dread better) - they are in fact quite similar guitars- so many features in common, I always loved these features of the old 510 and some have since changed: faux tortoise shell binding, chrome plated versus gold plated tuners, I liked the understated elegance of the diamond fret markers...just beautiful detail, really... I confess my old one sounded better because it had been played many, many hours- but I am sure I will enjoy breaking this one in! I made the store promise to hold my 510-CE for 5 days so I could have the option of buying it back, but I knew in 24 hours that I wasn't going to do it. Like I said, I am no guitar collector. I am a musician and not a rich woman. If my house were burning down all I would need to grab (after family) would be the old Epiphone and this beautiful Taylor. I truly loved the 510-CE and can only hope its next owner will appreciate it like I

The guitar was well set up but I did a slight truss rod adjustment. Taylor action is famous- this baby plays like butter. The Englemann spruce top is bookmatched fairly evenly but this particular piece of wood has a color variation/stripe in it about one inch off of the center- resulting in two one inch stripes from the bridge to the edge of the instrument!- someone else might consider it a flaw but I just think it adds to the character. Finish is beatuful but I expect to see some wear, as much as I tried to protect the other it got dinged... I think the finish on the Taylors is very light, in fact you can run your fingernail along the outer edge of the spruce top and just see the wood depressing under the pressure. No wonder it dings so easily. Oh well. I am going to play it out, not keep it in a box. (I already had an audience member come up and tell me I ought to be protecting it, "that's a collectors Taylor, you need to keep that in a case...." he said. Ha ha! I enjoyed his admiring of my new guitar, but what good is that? An unplayed guitar is a "dead" instrument in my book...that is why I don't intend to "collect" guitars) I'll give it an 8. Just beautiful, but not very durable against scratches and dings....

I played with my 510-CE 5 or more times a week for 3 years and 3 months, mostly oudoors, in humid North Florida. No problems, just a pleasure. I expect the same from the 510-AB. Yes, I played without a backup guitar on hand. (I did bring a soundhole pickup just in case the pickup ever failed for some reason, but was never concerned about the guitar itself having a problem.) See above for what I said about the finish- it is thin and easily dinged....still, I'll give this category a 10 just due to the reliability...

Have to agree with all the other posters here... Taylor really aims to please. They sent me a free saddle and lots of tech sheets. I called a couple of times over the 3 years I had my 510-CE. They seem unhurried and friendly when talking to you on the phone and once I left my number and got a call back in about 10 minutes. One nice guy was happy to take the time to look up my model and let me know that there were only 94 510-ABs made. They seem to value their customers. Makes you like the company even more. Gotta give them a 10.

The only thing I don't care for about Taylors are the baby Taylors. They just seem like too nice for a travel guitar. You know, wouldn't want to be that careful. And the tone- not really great. Granted, better than a Martin backpacker...but I really don't really know why anybody would want the new "big baby" - something for everyone though...
All full-sized Taylors are well made. my friend has an old 410 (back when they were the entry level taylor) and it is a beautiful, deep sounding guitar.
This 510-AB is the guitar I will keep until I die, or at least 20 years before I think about shelling out enough dough for another. (Just like I kept the epiphone 20 years.) Taylors are a superb value. And beg to be played. If it were stolen or lost, I'd definitely be shopping for another dreadnought Taylor. I'd keep an open mind- ha! but I'd try lots of Taylors- for sure!